Friday, June 03, 2011

Beyond Plutocracy and Its Two-Plutocratic-Party System

If you read Foord's classic account of the origins of the two-party system, His Majesty's Opposition 1714-1830, you can see that that system has always been a two-plutocratic-party system.

You can also see that the plutocracy has always quickly, even desperately, co-opted any new movements or parties into its two-plutocratic-party system—the Whig co-options of the Association and Petitioning Movements in Foord is highly instructive, as is the Democratic Party cooption and destruction of the Populist Party a century ago in the United States, and the present-day total conquest of that Democratic Party itself, at one point and in some States at least a "Farm-Labor Party", by the "Wall Street Democrats" of the Democratic Leadership Council.

How do we get beyond plutocracy and its two-plutocratic-party system?

With regard to the legislative branch of government, we should select the representatives in the popular houses at least (those in which representation is by population) by lottery, like juries, and otherwise use direct democracy as much as possible, getting politicians, parties and elections (with their monetary demands, not least from professionals in election-manipulation) out of politics as much as possible.

And with regard to the judicial branch of government, we should have all legal cases, both civil and criminal, passed on by grand juries, with those cases referred for final trial to be tried before juries, by lawyers—including judges—all selected by lottery on a case-by-case basis from pools of such associated with each court, and with those juries making all final findings of fact and law, with all of this extended up the chain of appeals courts as well, to the Federal Supreme Court itself.

We should also obtain "clawback" of the wealth stolen by the wealthiest from everyone else over the last half-century or so in the United States, from at least the "depletion allowance" scammers onward, and paying special, even loving, attention to the "out-sourcers" of industrial production from, and the importers and users of illegal immigrant labor in, the United States.

Just some sketchy first thoughts, from a somewhat larger collection of such, from which there will be more soon, hopefully.